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The substance that glows in the dark is radium paint, commonly used in
older
military equipment. The major
concern with opening anything containing this paint is not the direct
radiation
received from the paint, but rather
the hazard if ingested. Years ago, people were hired to specifically
hand paint
equipment with this paint. One
thing commonly practiced was 'tipping' the brush (forming a fine tip) by
placing
the brush in their mouths and drawing it
out. Needless to say, there was a high number of cancer cases, mostly
leukemia,
because radium will go directly to the blood
forming tissues in the bones of the human body. So Jason is absolutely
correct in
saying that these and any other meter
poses a significant health risk if opened.
Garret Sawtell
Registered Radiation Protection Technologist and MV owner.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Feb 21 2000 - 18:15:02 PST